FIREFIGHTERS RESCUE LAUDERDALE LAKES COUPLE

An elderly Lauderdale Lakes couple were in serious but stable condition on Saturday at Florida Medical Center after being rescued from an early-morning blaze that gutted their home in the 3500 block of Northwest 41st Street.

Michael Polvinale, 77, and his wife, Roberdeau, 74, were carried from their home by firefighters after they were discovered on the floor in separate areas of the smoke-filled house, police said.

Neighbors reported the fire at 2:39 a.m. They tried to reach the Polvinales but were unable to enter the house because of intense heat and smoke, police said.

Units from the Lauderdale Lakes, Tamarac and Lauderhill fire departments responded to the call and extinguished the blaze in 20 minutes.

Firefighters from Tamarac found Michael Polvinale on the floor in a bathroom doorway and carried him to safety. Roberdeau Polvinale was found on the floor in a back bedroom. She was rescued by firefighters from Lauderdale Lakes.

The fire was thought to have been accidental, following a preliminary investigation by detectives of the Broward Sheriff's Bomb and Arson Unit.